The elusive quality of video game immersion – Reader’s Feature

A reader argues that immersion can make or break a game as much as gameplay or visuals, and yet it’s the hardest element of all to get right…

A couple of months ago I was hanging out with some friends, and retro video games came into the discussion. One of the games that came up was Shadow Of The Beast on the Amiga (the discussion partly inspired by the news of a remake in the works). Now most of us, in spite of fond nostalgic memories, did agree that the game was more of a tech demo than an actual game; it was far too difficult, for one thing, to the point of being flat-out unfair.

However, one of our number did say that, in spite of that, he would still put the game on for an hour or so anyway, just to immerse himself in the atmosphere that the game created through its graphics, music and creature design. Even if he couldn’t get very far in it.

Now some of you may already be thinking that this kind of defeats the purpose of a game being a game, but then it occurred to me that I do the exact same thing with Dark Souls. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll likely never beat this game; I simply don’t have the necessary patience or skill that the game demands of the player. However, every now and then I’ll still stick the game on to bask in the atmosphere that the game creates.

The creature and environment design, and the subtle use of music and sound, all helped to immerse me in the world that From Software had created, one that was haunting and befouled but had it’s own elements of beauty surviving in it; all done without a single cut scene, and that was where I got most of my pleasure of playing the game from.

It’s this quality of immersion that is something I don’t find is often discussed in gaming, and admittedly it is a very subjective matter, but it can make or break a game for me. If a game can really get its hooks into me, it can make up for a lot of flaws. I think of Silent Hill 4: The Room for an example of this.

Of all the Team Silent-developed Silent Hill games it’s undeniably the weakest, with some really bad design decisions, but I didn’t despise it because its story kept me engaged and wanting to know what happened next. I found the subtexts created by the plot and the environments you explored were fascinating and the gameplay still remained functional enough to not be too distracting from it all.

This intangible immersion factor can save the life of what would otherwise be a bad game for me (not that I’m saying Dark Souls is a bad game, far from it; I just suck at it). The opposite, however, is also true; a lack of immersion is an instant death sentence, causing disinterest at best and flat-out revulsion at worst. The biggest example of this in recent times was the Tomb Raider reboot, one of the critical darlings of last year… and a game I absolutely hate.

I have several issues with the game, but the biggest crime it commits in my eyes is just how vast the disconnect is between the gameplay (which admittedly is passable) and the narrative. It is the worst example of what’s known as ludonarrative dissonance I have ever seen (an accusation often – and completely inaccurately – levelled at BioShock Infinite).

In the game, Lara is supposed to be a frightened archaeologist caught up in a situation she could not possibly have anticipated or maybe even be able to comprehend, and yet she regularly mows down armies of mooks, wielding an assault rifle like a professional soldier and pulling off countless headshots with a bow and arrow.

The way the game constantly told me one thing but expected me to do another, this huge difference between how Lara was portrayed in cut scenes and how she acted under my control, threw me out of the experience constantly and left a highly bitter taste in my mouth, making it in this writer’s opinion one of the most overrated games I have ever had the misfortune of playing.

It’s why, to me, I don’t envy the position of anyone who reviews games for a living. They can talk about the technical merits of a game all they please, but everyone will still have different ideas on what exactly will immerse them into a game, and that’s something you can’t really review on an objective level.

It’s why, to me, reviews should not be regarded as anything other than someone’s opinion, maybe a guideline at most, and even then it’s no guarantee you’ll like a game even if it sounds like one you’d enjoy. The opposite’s also true; you may love a game that reviewers weren’t keen on (I’m sure someone out there must like Ride To Hell: Retribution in a non-ironic manner, in spite of all common sense).

At the end of the day, the quality of immersion is not something that can be reviewed or even really explained in an objective manner, but it can drastically colour one’s opinion of a game, for better or for worse.

By reader Andrew Middlemas

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk